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If you're into inbound marketing even just a little bit, you should know the name Tom Fishburne. Founder and CEO of Marketoonist, which parodies the world of marketing in the form of comics, Tom delights with his creative take on various marketing ideologies and subtopics.

But of my many favorite Fishburne-isms, it's something he says in a recent CustomerThink interview that rings truest of all for me:

"The best marketing doesn't feel like marketing"

I couldn't agree more. In a world of research-at-our-fingertips and Google-searches-galore, consumers are savvier than ever. In-authenticity reeks, and brands that aren't true to their mission (or those who haven't taken the time to explore what their mission actually is) are going to have an increasingly harder time finding marketing that works.

Worse? Those same savvy consumers are also unforgiving. Making the wrong move with your inbound strategy could just mean the death of your brand. Don't get me wrong, we all make honest mistakes, and the brands who make them (and get caught), if they're smart, will own up and charge forward. But the brands who think they can scheme their way into the hearts and wallets of their consumers are in for a rude awakening.

Are you starting to panic because you don't have a strong strategic plan in place for 2017? Don't worry--you're not alone!

We've been leading inbound marketing projects and campaigns for our clients for more than four years, and we've found that most inbound marketers don't have a formal strategy or plan in place...and those that do aren't really sure if they're headed down the right path. Also, we've noticed that most inbound marketers tend to make the same mistakes, regardless of role, industry or level of experience with inbound marketing.

Our team of content strategists and inbound marketers has identified a list of the top five mistakes that we've seen inbound marketers make over and over and over again, and we're sharing it with you so you can save yourself a lot of time, money and headaches. Trust us when we say that taking shortcuts now will cost you more later.

So without further ado, here's our list of the five mistakes that you shoud avoid when creating your 2017 inbound marketing strategic plan: